Perfectly Chocolate Bundt Cake

If you’re looking for a last minute Super Bowl cake, I’ve got you covered!

This is the fastest, most convenient, and economical cake I know of. And you probably have all the ingredients in the pantry right now — well, at least for the cake. You may or may not have everything for The Cake Mix Doctor’s Marshmallow Frosting (shiny!), but this cake can be draped in just about anything including a basic chocolate ganache.

The “super secret” source of this recipe is Hershey’s, but I got it years ago from my cousin, Julie. We usually make it as cupcakes or layers, but I’ve been on a Bundt cake kick and wanted to use a fluted pan. For the cocoa powder, I used natural, but Dutch process also works well. And if you prefer using buttermilk in place of milk or coffee in place of water, go for it. The only thing to watch carefully is the time. Mine was done in 45 minutes, but sometimes it takes up to 55.

Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add oil, milk, eggs and vanilla. Beat two minutes with electric mixer at medium speed. Stir in water until blended. Batter will be thin.

Pour batter in the Bundt pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until skewer or pick inserted comes out clean.

Let the cake sit in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully turn it from the Bundt.

To make the frosting, sift the sugar and set it next to the stove. Keep the cocoa powder handy, too. I don't usually mix the two ahead of time, because I know I'll use all of the cocoa powder, but I don't always use every bit of sugar.

Combine the butter, marshmallows and milk in a large (3 quart) saucepan. Heat on medium to medium low, stirring often, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa. Add about half the powdered sugar and stir well, then gradually add more until you get just the consistency you want. I usually use it all. Add vanilla and stir until smooth. Pour over the cake, letting it fall down the sides and into the center.

Notes

For shiny, heavy Bundt pans use 350 degrees F. For black Bundt pans, use 325F.
if using buttermilk, increase soda to 2 and decrease baking powder to 1.

Sheila, my cake was still a little warm when I put the frosting on. However, the frosting goes on while the frosting itself is warm, so it really doesn’t matter. If you want the frosting to be a little thicker, you can let it sit and cool in the pan. I poured mine on almost immediately after taking it off the stove because I wanted it to really drip down all over the cake. A lot of it went into that center hole, but I dug it out.

Anna, I been wanting to try out my new Bundt pan and this the perfect recipe for us. Since our team (Pittsburgh Steelers) are not in the Super Bowl and we are waiting for more snow to fall, I have been cooking/baking all weekend.

There is something special about a Bundt cake. This one looks wonderful! Anna, does this frosting/glaze set/dry to the point where you can touch it and nothing sticks to your finger? I am looking everywhere for a ganache-like frosting that really sets up. Yours is SO shiny and pretty.

Hi Wendy,
This particular icing/frosting is really shiny, but it doesn’t set up quite like ganache. That is, it’s a little bit sticky. I have tried so many ganache and icing recipes that I forget which is which, but one that I have used over and over and that you might like is the on I use on my Boston Cream Pies and Boston Cream Poke cake recipe. It’s super easy and definitely a little firmer than the one in this photo. Here’s the link. http://www.cookiemadness.net/2012/03/boston-cream-poke-cake/ It uses 4 tablespoons butter, 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar, some boiling water and a little vanilla.

I made this last night and it turned out really well. I was worried about the lack of butter or melted chocolate making it not rich/chocolate-y enough, so I added some mini-chocolate chips (about 1/3 a cup) and I really should have left them out. It would have been plenty chocolate-y without them.

I also used a bit of buttermilk as I had about a 1/3 a cup on hand and just mixed it with 2/3 a cup of skim milk.

Oh, and I did add about a Tbs of espresso powder to the boiling water.

Hello Anna, just a quick question: what size bundt pan did you use? I have a 6-cup silicone bundt pan (the floppy kind), but that seems a bit small for this recipe. Fill it up part way perhaps? The cake looks yummy, especially with that glaze!

Hi, I just made this -still baking-but wanted to share. I have two 3-cup bundt pans, and am using them for the first time. The recipes included with them has about the same volume as this, and says to divide between the two. I ended out filling both pans about 3/4 full, and then having enough batter for 9 regular sized cupcakes. As I’m watching them bake, that was too much batter for the pans. They didn’t overflow per se, but have risen above the top rim and are sort of mushrooming. Next time, I’ll pour batter into 12 cupcakes, and then divide the remainder between the two bunds pans. Oh no, just looked and one of the pans did overflow. I shouldn’t have pushed it. Maybe it was the whiskey I substituted for part of the water. :). I was in Wegmans earlier and they were handling out samples of their Irish cream ice cream. The young woman said she had made a chocolate cake, left it unfrosted and served the ice cream over it. I couldn’t resist either!

Linda, thanks for the info! I usually use a 10 inch, 12 cup Bundt pan for this recipe or I divide it in half and use a 6 cup Bundt pan. I love the 6 cup size because it accommodates a half batch of almost any standard size Bundt. The 3 cup size Bundt pans must be very cute! I guess next time you might want to just halve the recipe and then divide among the two 3 cup Bundts.

Now I feel like I need to buy a couple of 3 cup Bundts. Those must be handy.

Anna, the cakes all came out great, even with the overflow. The 3 cup bundt pans (or “bundform” as they’re described on the insert.) are made by Kaiser and I got them on amazon. They’re cast aluminum, nonstick, and I got two different designs. One cake is a perfect size for 2 – 4 people, so depending on which recipe you use, you’ll get two cakes OR two cakes with a dozen or so cupcakes!